Making the KDF Christmas Show Covid-safe.

Protecting our staff, exhibitors & visitors from Covid-19.

We have spent much of the last 18 months thinking of ways we can work with Covid safety rules & advice & generally make our events a safe environment. At present, we are not sure what rules will be in place for our KDF London Showcase on 17th & 18th of September, but we have a number of ideas that we can implement if necessary to abide by any rules & social distancing laws in place at the time.

Entry to the Venue:
We are keeping a close eye on how other events are handling the current situation & we will learn from them the best way to deal with mass gatherings. At the moment, we think that all staff, exhibitors & visitors to the show will need to have EITHER proof that you have had double vaccination, OR proof of a negative COVID test in the last 24 hrs (not applicable to children). We may decrease these rules nearer the time if we think it is safe to do so.

Reducing exhibitor numbers:
For the next year, we will be reducing the number of exhibitors at our events. Pre Covid, we had around 170-180 exhibitors at our shows in Kensington. We plan to reduce this by approximately 40-50 stands. This will mean more space for exhibitors behind their tables & more distance between tables.

Reducing visitor numbers:
We will be reducing the number of visitors through the gate by approximately one third. This will mean there are less crowds & more space to view all the stands. We are asking all visitors to book their tickets in advance as we will only have a few tickets available to purchase on the door. By limiting numbers, we should get a more even spread of visitors over the 2 day show.

New layout & one way system at the venue:
We have worked with Kensington Town Hall to design a one-way system around all the halls in the venue. This has meant that the layout of the show has changed. This should improve the flow of visitors and keep bottlenecks clear. We will have LDF Staff on each level checking that areas are not too congested.

Use of PPE:
Face masks are required while in the venue unless you cannot wear them for a health reason or if you are eating & drinking in the Cafe! Hand sanitisers will be available throughout the venue.

Refreshments & rest areas:
We will still be offering refreshments at the show. We have been working with our caterers to create a simplified menu of sandwiches, snacks & drinks that will be all individually wrapped. The seating area for the cafe has been increased & will be cleaned regularly. We will encourage customers to pay with cards or contactless, to speed up the purchasing of food & drinks. Other rest areas will be available, but we will ensure that social distancing rules are met. The Exhibitor’s R&R room will be available & their tea & coffee service will also be running as usual.

KDF Reception & Displays:
Our new layout creates a larger area for KDF Staff. We are considering having screens at the Reception areas if necessary. Contactless payments will be encouraged to speed up purchases. We will not have our Helpdesk or the Gingerbread Craft Club taking place this year.

Cleaning the venue & cloakroom:
We are working closely with the venue to ensure that the halls & toilets are cleaned regularly & to a high standard. Additional cleaning will be done by our staff. We will still have a FREE cloakroom, that will enable all visitors to leave coats & large bags etc while walking around the show.

Signage:
We will remind everyone of any necessary rules or behaviour with signage throughout the venue.

If you have any comments or suggestions on how we can improve Covid safety at our shows, please contact us.